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Text Customization for Readability (main page edits)

Introduction

This symposium brings together researchers, practitioners, and users with disabilities to explore the needs of people with low vision, dyslexia, and other conditions and situations that impact reading. It promotes new research, ongoing research, and analysis of past research related to text customization for readability. The goal is to encourage user agent developers, standards developers, policy makers, web designers, and others to provide specific functionality in mainstream web products by helping them better understand and implement text customization.
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Dates

Submission deadline: 24 September 2012

Registration opens: about 2 weeks before the symposium

Symposium: 19 November 2012, probably 15:00-17:00 UTC

Background

start deleteUsers with low vision, dyslexia, and other conditions and situations that impact readingend delete
Many people need to be able to customize text in order to read effectively. Aspects of text formatting that users need to customize include: text size, text color and background color, font face, leading/line spacing, linearization/reflow, kerning, letter spacing, word spacing, line length, text style, justification, and more — including global changes and changes at the element level (e.g., headings different from body text).edit{edits to paragraph above}

However, there are few resources that provide clear guidance on text customization. Additionally, most of this customization has not been well integrated in mainstream user agents (web browsers, etc.), nor is it sufficiently included in some accessibility standards and support material (such as the Section 508 standards).edit{edits to paragraph above}

One reason for lack of sufficient text customization functionality may be a lack of awareness of and research on users' needs. This symposium aims to address that gap.

User Group

This symposium focuses on a specific group of people with print disabilities: those who can see and can read, but have difficulty reading text in common editdesigns and thus need to specify different text characteristics in order to read effectively. It includes:

people with low vision, including people with declining eyesight due to aging,

people with dyslexia and related disabilities,

people with other difficulties reading,

editanyone in difficult situations that impact reading, such as high stress situations, low light conditions, reading on a moving mobile phone, reading a non-native language, and readers with low literacy.

The primary focus is on people who use mainstream technologies and do not regularly use assistive technologies (AT), such as screen magnification. Some people do not use AT because the functionality does not meet their needs, poor usability, complexity, cost, availability, or other factors. For example, some people do not use screen magnification because while they need to increase text size to read, they do not want to increase images or other screen elements; and some need text to wrap to avoid horizontal scrolling — functionality that most screen magnification software does not provide. Research with AT users can inform how to meet the needs of this user group.edit{minor edits to above paragraph}

Objectives

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The objectives of this symposium are to:

Define the problem space: Describe the text customization needs of people with low vision, dyslexia, and other conditions and situations that impact reading.

Share and compare: Discuss what we know about how text customization helps people read. Discuss what people do and don't do in relation to text customization.

Synthesize and organize: Analyze applied and experimental findings and integrate them into a report that offers clear recommendations.

Call for Papers (WAI web page)

Invitation

The Research and Development Working Group (W3C/WAI RDWG) invites you to contribute to the online symposium on text customization for readability.
Symposium date: 19 November 2012
Abstract submission date: 24 September 2012

Accepted papers will be published online in an attributable form as part of the symposium proceedings. Authors of accepted papers will be invited to participate in the symposium panel.

Introduction

This symposium brings together researchers, practitioners, and users with disabilities to explore the needs of people with low vision, dyslexia, and other conditions and situations that impact reading. It promotes new research, ongoing research, and analysis of past research related to text customization for readability. The goal is to encourage user agent developers, standards developers, policy makers, web designers, and others to provide specific functionality in mainstream web products by helping them better understand and implement text customization.
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Scope

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This symposium focuses specifically on text customization requirements and functionality, that is, providing users the ability to change (or personalize) various aspects of text formatting to improve readability for their particular needs.

Users: The primary focus is on people with disabilities. (See the User Group section of the main page.) However, relevant studies in related areas — such as older web users, people with low literacy, and situational issues (e.g., reading in low light) — are in scope if the information is also applicable to people with disabilities.

Tools: Research on assistive technologies and specialized tools for allowing users to customize text is in scope, to inform potential inclusion of text customization functionality in mainstream products.

Technologies: The primary technology focus is on web browsers, media players, and plug-ins such as PDF Reader, Flash, Silverlight, QuickTime. Papers related to other technologies, such as eBook readers, are in scope if the information also is applicable to web technologies.

Related Topics

The following are out of scope of this topic: what is the optimum font and format for text (see The Need for Text Customisation), legibility (see Readability Beyond Legibility), the impact of things like moving ads on a web page distracting from reading, and reading level.edit{edits to paragraph above}

editAn upcoming symposium on easy-to-read will address other related topics.{after e2r definition is clearer, can say more here}

Contributions

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We invite research and position papers from a range of disciplines that address the following issues and challenges:

Understanding text customization needs and requirements

What aspects of text customization improve readability? How do they help?

Which aspects of text customization are necessary requirements for people to be able to read effectively, and which are optional suggestions to improve readability?

What are the gaps in knowledge of users' needs for text customization?

Integrating text customization functionality and requirements

How well do existing text customization functionality and interfaces support users' needs?

What text customization functionality is provided in current products?

How do users interact with text customization features? Which do they use, which do they not use, and why?

How might we increase awareness of the need for text customization, and the benefits?

What text customization functionality should be included in products in order to meet users' needs?

How can we improve discoverability and usability of text customization features in products?

How should text customization requirements be better addressed in accessibility guidelines, web standards, and other best practice guides?

What areas of research show promise to inform and evolve text customization for readability?

We particularly welcome submissions that describe:

Empirical (lab-based or ethnographic) studies of people with low vision, dyslexia, and other conditions that impact reading — including awareness of text customization functionality, adaptive strategies used, and parameters for improving text customization functionality to meet needs.

Evaluations of the scope, usability, and effectiveness of text customization functionality provided by user agents (natively or as extensions/add-ons), assistive technologies, or web content.

Paper Submission

We invite extended research abstracts of about 1000 words from researchers, practioners, users, and others interested in text customization for readability. We encourage concise contributions that are scientifically sound with appropriate references. Papers should clearly explain the:

Problem addressed

Relevant background

Approach - how was the problem addressed, what methodologies were used, what strategies were pursued to address the problem

Challenges - major obstacles or difficulties found during the process or that could be encountered in the way forward

Outcomes

Future research

Papers of about 1000 words must be submitted in accessible, valid HTML in the template provided.

Paper submission will close on 24 September 2012 (midnight UTC).

The Submission form will be available here in September.

Review Process

Contributions will be reviewed by the Scientific Committee and each paper will get at least three independent reviews for criteria including relevance, clarity, soundness and power of the arguments, understanding of user needs, and contribution to knowledge about text customization for readability. Papers will be accepted based on this criteria.

Formalities: {@@shawn - consider minor edits to make this less legal-speak -- but will need to run by W3C legal} The Symposium Report will be published under the W3C Document License. Paper authors shall grant W3C a perpetual, non-exclusive, royalty-free, world-wide right and license to copy, publish, use, and modify the contribution and to distribute the contribution under a BSD License or one with more restrictive terms, as well as a right and license of the same scope to any derivative works prepared by the W3C and based on, or incorporating all or part of the contribution. The Contributor further agrees that any derivative works of this contribution prepared by the W3C shall be solely owned by the W3C.